Stronger Than Coincidence
by I'm Bad And That's Good
Summary: Slight AU. Some of Vanellope's thoughts after the end of the movie as she wonders what exactly brought the main four- but mainly her and Ralph- together. Not romance, sorry.


**Some of Vanellope's thoughts as she looks back on the events of the movie. Oh, and she stays a princess.**

* * *

I had been waiting for that moment... When I crossed the finish line. I always knew I would be in first place when I did it. And technically I was, because no one else had made it. Ralph pushed me across, and I felt a rush of energy. "Whoa! What's with all the magic sparkles?!" I exclaimed as I was gently lifted in to the air and was surrounded by, well, magic sparkles. There was a flash, and I felt so... relaxed. It scared me, honestly. Like, I hadn't felt relaxed in _fifteen years, _and then... peace...It was sudden, and unexpected. Could this really of all been _over_? After everything I went through, this was...Well, it just felt right. That would be the best way to describe it... The energy I felt rushed out of me as I touched the ground. It reset the game.

* * *

See, my friend Wreck-It Ralph had just helped me defeat my arch nemesis, King Candy-Who I now know was really an old character named Turbo in disguise. And in a way- No, _without a doubt_, Ralph saved us all. Sure, the Stinkbrain had brought a Cybug, a creepy little virus thing, into my game and nearly destroyed the arcade, but hey, could you blame him? It started when he wanted to be treated fairly, I guess- he hadn't told me much about his game, but basically he was a bad guy, and even after the game was over the other characters still treated him as such- something I didn't think was right. Of course, he was helping me win a metal, so I did think pretty highly of him, and it didn't take long for us to start getting along, really. I mean, we're so different, but even I know being alike has nothing to do with being friends with some one. The wrecker and the glitch. We were odd. Ha, that's so, what is it, understated? We were freaks. In a way we were both bad guys from our games, him literally and me more of a loser, stuck in my home. The day we met we almost knew- _almost had the idea_ - that things would never be the same.

He had braved Hero's Duty-hehehe- and gotten a metal, and then blundered up badly enough to launch an escape pod right into my game. Sure he took the bug with him, but I'll make fun of him for that later. Actually, it's kind of funny. See, he fell into Sugar Rush with an escape pod, and I was stuck in there forever. Not only that, but we both ended up in the Peppermint Tree Forest. _There's a word for that, isn't there? Hmm.._**_._** Well, he wasn't that hard to talk to, besides having breath that could bowl me over and the attitude of a two year old. And really, I grew to like him. Like a stupid big brother.

No one else had ever taken the time to talk to me. No one else would have dared to help me make a Kart, or fight King Candy. And when Ralph broke my kart... I felt something inside my snap. It was different, y'know? The other racers all made fun of me, they beat me and called me names, but... It never hurt that bad. I never cried that hard over them, but losing Ralph... I can't even... Think about it. At the time I knew there must be a reason for us to have met, some bigger purpose behind it. Then we met Felix.

He was a nice guy, too. He fixed my kart when Ralph asked, and he was so polite, and formal, something I for some reason felt was right. Like I was supposed to be treated with respect and dignity, even though I, as far as I knew then, never had been. So I guess that was when things started clicking for me. At the time, though, all I could think was 'I have to race!'. Years I had spent, waiting for that moment when I could race, and rub it in to the other racers' faces. I could imagine myself passing them, giving shouts of happiness as each one of them looked in shock as the 'glitch' zoomed past them, rocking around the track like she was _programmed_ to. That's what I thought as Ralph and Felix hopped off the kart. 'I'll show them!'

"I'm already a real racer," I said to Ralph, "And I'm gonna win."

* * *

I always knew King Candy was evil. Well, crazy was the word I usually used, but his kind of crazy _was_ evil. He was loon, sure, but... I never saw it coming that he was Turbo. Heck, I hardly even knew of the guy! Though it made sense, being the psychopath-super-racer-loon I always knew he was.

And really, King Candy was the perfect spot for Turbo to fill. My memories are still a bit fuzzy... I can't remember who King Candy was before Turbo, but it fits that the character was there. I mean, what are the chances that a game would come along that had a crazy king main character, and the game itself would be easy to take over AND a racing game? It all fit together so perfectly, didn't it? It was odd...

Calhoun and Felix protected me from the Cybugs as Ralph ran off to Mod-knows-where. Eventually they had to fall back, and I was left alone outside the barrier. I looked up in desperation and saw Turbo-as a Cybug!- Holding Ralph. A moment later Ralph broke through his grasp and fell... Right onto Diet Cola Mountain.

"Ralph!"

There's another funny thing. My glitch just so happened to let me teleport (I later found out I had that power before, but then my glitch stripped it down) So as Ralph was falling I managed to teleport over to an abandoned kart- Crumbileena's- and glitch my way right into the mountain. I caught him, and we raced out of there just in time for the Cybugs to be drawn to the light- which was the biggest possible beacon, and it was right in this game. I swear, there's a word for this... So Felix fixed the finish line, and Ralph grabbed my kart. As he pushed me across the finish line I thought, _We defeated Turbo..._

And here was Ralph, Calhoun, and Felix to top it all off. Oh, and me, I guess.

* * *

"Now I remember!" I heard Sour Bill say as I looked at me new out fit once the sparkles died down. "All hail the rightful ruler," I held my breath. No way... "Princess Vanellope." The shocked gasps of the racers-my subjects, brought a mischievous smirk to my face. This could be good...

"There, there," I softly said as they all pleaded to not be punished, "As your merciful ruler, I hear by decree that every one who ever made fun of me shall be..." Their eyes glimmered with hope and I almost, almost, didn't say the next part, "Executed." I kept my face straight as they all broke down sobbing, begging not to be punished even more, some dropping to their knees, some blaming Taffyta.

"My Land!"

"This game just got a lot more interesting..."

I had to laugh eventually, and snickered at the racers. "Aw, I'm just kidding, quit cryin' Taffyta!" The others looked to me with hope and disbelief.

"Now that I'm princess again," I said, "I will be getting rid of all Time-Outs and punishments- Those were Turbo, not me."

Cheers rang around me and I thought, _Though they could have been. Could I have ended up like him? No,_ I decided fiercely, _I never could have been him. That's why he was here, right? To teach us all a lesson. In a way, we'll be safe because of what he did. The whole arcade will! There WAS a higher meaning- There had to have been!_

Of course eventually Ralph had to leave. I didn't want him to, but we both had some cleaning up to do. I offered for him to stay in the castle, but he resisted, saying he had a duty.

"Granted it's not as cool as being a princess." He joked with me as he left.

But I knew what he meant. We both had people to go back to- I had subjects to lead! I glitched out of my dress and back into my regular out fit. They all gave me strange looks and Ralph, who was in the escape pod by then, sent me a look.

"What? You think I'm really going to walk around in that?" I stuck me hands in my pockets. A princess that didn't like dresses, hah! "Princess or not, I'm still me. And there's no one I would rather be." I grinned, and Ralph looked about to cry. Fortunately for him the pod took of at that moment.

To think, I had friends now! AND I could race! And I was a princess. But this never could have happened without Ralph. If he wasn't such an idiot, well, who knows where I would be?

Oh, yeah. A c_oincidence_. That's what its called. Though, maybe Fate isn't too strong of a word, either.

* * *

**My first (published) Fanfiction!**

**So, how was is? Please send me a review, it would mean a lot! And feel free to tell me if I did something wrong- I wrote this all from memory.**

**~Bad**


End file.
